"Forgetting and keeping the technique aside is the bravest thing that Surya has done in his career" - Abhishek Nayar on Suryakumar Yadav's scoop shots

Abhishek Nayar has lauded Suryakumar Yadav for being brave enough to throw the cricketing book out of the window and become successful while playing unconventional shots.

Suryakumar is the top-ranked T20I batter in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings. He has smashed 1979 runs in 53 T20I innings at an excellent average of 46.02 and an outstanding strike rate of 172.53.

During a discussion on Sports 18, Nayar was asked how Suryakumar plays the scoop shot, something very few batters are able to replicate, to which he responded:

"I think a lot of people try to play it. We don't see them playing it at this level. In domestic cricket, there are a lot of people trying to replicate that. We actually saw Glenn Maxwell be quite similar to what SKY was doing."

The former India all-rounder added:

"You need to understand that it's not only about the technique, it's also about how your body can come into those positions. The foremost thing is to have the heart to do it. I feel forgetting and keeping the technique aside is the bravest thing that Surya has done in his career."

Nayar recalled the discussions about Suryakumar's odd shots when he was playing under-19 cricket for Mumbai. He highlighted that questions were raised about him not taking his time in red-ball cricket even when he scored a double century.

---

"Suryakumar Yadav always had that natural ability" - Abhishek Nayar

Suryakumar Yadav has scored three centuries in T20I cricket. [P/C: AP]

Abhishek Nayar praised Suryakumar Yadav for refraining from changing his natural game. He said:

"It is natural ability and Suryakumar Yadav always had that natural ability. Through the years, no one tried to change that natural ability or his thinking. Even if someone tried, he didn't change it."

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the unconventional batter frequently played sweeps and reverse sweeps during his formative years and developed the scoop shot later. He observed:

"Yes, he invented the scoop shot but the sweep and reverse sweep, which he plays less now, are two shots he used to play a lot when he was a youngster. When a kid is growing up, a lot of players don't play these shots because our system does not allow them to play them."

Nayar highlighted that the coaching structure at the lower levels stops players from playing unconventional shots and instead asks them to look to score big runs. He added that Suryakumar deserves a lot of credit for staying in the system and challenging it.